Traffic campaign aims to rein in reckless drivers

Five motorists are to be honoured by Dubai traffic police during its second campaign.

The traffic campaign, Your Driving Reflects Your Manners, was launched yesterday and runs until June 22.

Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Al Gaithi, Deputy Director of Dubai Traffic Police Department, said they were going to focus on all kinds of violations.

"Earlier, we focused on one main type of violation, such as driving on the hard shoulder or jumping a red light. This time, we are going to focus on all violations," he said.

He said they were going to try to come up with solutions to prevent traffic accidents and violations.

"We will try to study the types of violations, and find out the causes and solutions of these violations. We also hope that the media will come up with a survey to find out the effectiveness of these traffic campaigns.

"The results of these surveys will help the department a lot in finding better solutions," he said.

Lt Col Al Gaithi said during the campaign, a committee from the department was going to drive on Dubai's roads, monitor drivers and choose the five best motorists.

"We are going to choose good motorists who follow all traffic rules, and prove themselves to be safe drivers. Then we will check their driving record to see if they have committed any serious violations, and if not, we are going to honour them," he said.

Prizes are being given by the Ant Group, and will include perfumes, sun glasses and DVDs, among others, he said.

He said they were targeting motorists in certain categories in particular, although all drivers would be monitored.

"We are mainly focusing on the drivers of transport companies and taxi drivers as well as new driving licence holders.

"We are also going to conduct lectures for the drivers of transport companies and taxi drivers in different companies," he said.

He said brochures were going to be distributed in 24 shopping malls and Eppco and Enoc petrol stations to publicise the safe driving campaign.

"We are also going to hold a photography exhibition showing fatal traffic accidents at one of the shopping malls in Dubai," he said.

He said the campaign also featured a cartoon character called Raqeeb, who represents traffic policemen. During the campaign, police would mete out tough punishments to reckless drivers, Lt Col Al Gaithi said.

"We are going to report drivers who carry out dangerous violations such as jumping a red light, driving on the hard shoulder, driving recklessly or who have no lane discipline to the traffic department immediately. They might pay a fine, or be referred to the public prosecution department."